Running goals, motivation and chat 2025

[Jumbojem]

All welcome! A place to share or goals and achievements and to motivate each other along the way.
A virtual mumsnet run club perhaps?

I have been on a half mara chat group the last few years but currently not training for one. So, my 2025 goals are:
Now until spring - get fitter for a 15 mile hilly trail run event in April.
Summer - try for a 5k PB, try to get faster?
Autumn - maybe do a half mara? Cross Country again ( I am slow and old but love this).

Who else wants to join me?

Well done @Sparticle that's an amazing result. So pleased for you. I too like having plans to follow but I can't advise you as I'm still working through the couch to 5k!

Well done @Sparticle what a fantastic result! You should be super proud of yourself!!

That’s an amazing time and under tough conditions @Sparticle! What spot on support from your DH too. The sand did make me laugh a little. Are you maybe tempted by an autumn half marathon? You’ve clearly got the mental determination!

Excellent job @Mysterianand a PB to boot. Our parkrun is the same - mass surge for first timers.

Well done on the parkrun return @SoapCollectorand week 8 @NormaMajors1992coat

I’m having an adjustment month - trying IF to get some weight off before I start training for Robin Hood in June. I’m pretty good with getting my 3 runs in a week and 2-3 yoga/Pilates. It’s the strength I struggle with as a few people have said. I’ve been doing a few weeks from a book which was ok but I’m not inspired by it and it’s difficult to manage with work travel. Back to the drawing board there!

How did your long run go @OhOneOhTwoOhThree

Sorry if I’ve missed anyone

Well done @Mysterian glad your plan worked out well for you 😀Think I'll try choose a flat course for my next parkrun!

Congrats to all of you! @Sparticle thar sounds hard but now you know you just need to practice running into some cushions 😁.

I rolled my ankle last weekend and it’s still sore and so I’m not running on it. I have a little fear it will damage my motivation, but I’m already getting itchy feet. Trying to do low impact stuff and be patient.

@thirdistheonewiththehairychest a similar life stage/ place for me. Mornings or lunchtimes for me (bit of WFH which is lucky), then one long weekend one at some point. I also have short, medium and long run routines so I can fit something - intervals are particularly useful if you only have 20mins.

Well done @Sparticle ! Great result!

@chutneypig I'm interested in the IF thing - one of my friends has had good results.

Ny long run was good - took it steady and jeffed the while way. I'd done the route twice before, and was 15 minutes faster than last year (but slower than the year before). I was happy with my fuelling and hydration, which included a delicious ice cream at the turnaround point (I'd earned it by then)

Ooh that ice cream looks good! Well done on the long run.
Also, super well done on a great time in tough conditions @sparticle I get the self doubt/negative thoughts and I like the message from your OH to just start and see.
Good to hear people enjoying parkrun, Orkney sounds fab for a parkrun. I have teens who just don't get up early, and as OH and I get up pretty early in the week (both start work at 7.30am) I like to faff about/lies in on a Saturday morning.
Did 5 miles today but felt off, walked a bit (humid) and hip was niggly. Upped the mileage a bit this week and probably ramped up a bit more than my body can cope with. Yoga and a rest day tomorrow.
Just ordered 2 new sports bras which came to over £80, felt very painful, but then the chaffing from my current worn out bra is also painful! The joys of being a female runner with bigger boobs, those little crop top things Nike and the big sportswear brands call "sports bras" would never do the job for me!

Thanks all, I still can’t quite believe it. And yes DH said just the right thing at the right time even though he is one of those who doesn’t understand why I’d spend money to run a distance I can now run anyway with a load of other people 😁

@chutneypig I've just looked up the races on the same local organisers website and there is a 10 mile race 31st August which I think could be doable. I really like the Nike run club app and there isn’t a 10 mile plan but I’ve read online that I could just use the half marathon plan instead. And now I’ve got that thought in my head… 😆

@OhOneOhTwoOhThree that ice cream looks amazing - what flavour?!

I've not been to parkrun for a few weeks as I was getting my long runs in instead (not as long as some of you run obv). But next week I plan to do it with my friend who finished C25K last week and I’ve promised her that I’ll run at her speed. I’m looking forward to cheering her on as we run, for the 7-8km stretch this morning I somehow ended up cheering on and encouraging all ladies of a certain age who were still heading to the turn point in the other direction. It made me feel a lot better to see them smile!

@Sparticle
"doesn’t understand why I’d spend money to run a distance I can now run anyway with a load of other people" That comment made me laugh 😂

Week 8 of couch to 5k for me this morning 28 mins of running (well jogging!). I've bought some new running trainers, wore them this morning and I'm really pleased with them. ASICS gel contend 9, £54.99 in Sports Direct. To be honest they don't feel that much different to my Brooks trainers that I paid twice as much for! Although maybe there would be a difference if I was able to run for longer distances!

They sound like a bargain @SoapCollector😀

DH and I have got the day off today and we popped up to the Inov8 trail running shop in Cumbria (also bought and ate the hugest and creamiest cinnamon buns I’ve ever seen in the cafe next door).

I was all up for treating myself to a pair of trail running shoes (still feeling the high from yesterday 😁) but I was so disappointed as the shop was pretty sterile and sparse that we just did a circuit of the shop floor and got out. A real shame but at least it saved me £100+…!

I have some new trainers on their way from Vinted 😬

Bit risky I know, but they are brand new in the box, RRP £145, on for £65 and I managed to get them for £50. I figured I can probably make that back if they don’t fit. Reviews suggest they are good shoes and will suit me but who knows..

Even though I live near a city it’s quite hard to find shops with a really good selection of running shoes. Last time I went shopping I ended up buying some that were the best of a bad bunch but quite uncomfortable and this was after so-called gait analysis. I hardly wore them, so I figured I can’t do worse than that!

My last few pairs of running shoes have come from sportsshoes.com but it’s easier if you know what you want or the postage to return is a sting.

Early 6.30am run with dog this morning, perfect conditions around 10c blue sky and hardly anyone about on the trail. Then made myself do 20min Caroline Girvam weights video. I’m trying to do more strength stuff just find it hard for motivation. Both teens were still asleep still when I finished. One only has to go in for exams now and the other we Home Ed so her online stuff starts bit later. Was heaven not having to cut things shorter for “school run”.

I do like a bargain @Sparticle 😁

Sounds like you got a good vinted deal there @NormaMajors1992coat

Well done on the weight training today @JanuaryOSunshine Do you find it easy to get up and run early morning? Or is it difficult but you just do it anyway?! It would be a really good start to my day but I've never been a morning person!

I’m a morning person but I find it best if I’m not thinking about it I just lay out run kit the night before and put it on before my brain has engaged. This morning I told myself I’ll start walking with the dog and then it was so nice after 5mins I just ran. The dog loves it she just trotters along as her walk pace is my run pace 🤣

I’m about to change my work hours to start at 8am instead of 9am and I’d got used to running at 8am once DD had left for school. I mentioned to her that now I’d have to run at 7am instead and she’s moaning that she like literally won’t ever get to see me before school. Which isn’t really true unless I do 10km on a random week day and that’s not going to happen right now.

If I don’t do it first thing I find it much harder to get motivated to go at lunchtime if wfh or in the evening. :/

I used to run in the morning first thing, but since I've been going later in the day I have found it much easier as I have more energy. My optimum running time is 2-3 hours after a decent meal.

I also find I have more energy for running later in the day. I don’t like to eat first thing and I can’t do more than 5k on an empty stomach without feeling really floppy. So I tend to only run in the morning at weekend and then rarely much before 9.

@Sparticle @NormaMajors1992coat hope you enjoy your bargain finds. Always love a bargain but did splash out for my recent pair. Though I am quite lucky to have an asics outlet store quite near me so can always try on some bargain pairs. New trail shoes will be my next big spend as I’m hoping to do a trail half/18 miler in September. I know which ones want as I’ve already been and tried them all on.

Well done on the weight training @JanuaryOSunshine. I’ve booked a lift class at the gym tonight for that purpose but completely forgot that I also have ballet tonight so will end up going from one to the other and being late for ballet. Never mind! 😂

Ooh tell us a bit about ballet if you don’t mind @Whataninterestinglookingpotato have you always been a dancer?

@NormaMajors1992coat no, I haven’t always danced. Well I did it as a small child but not properly. However, both my daughters did for years dd1 until she left for uni at 18 and she got up to grade 8 and advanced foundation vocational exams. So the dance school has been part of our lives for many years.

I started about 6 years ago for a bit of fun. It’s a friendly recreational group and we have a good laugh. We do shows too, which are fun. I’m not amazing at it, but I enjoy it and it helps with a bit of flexibility to kind of counteract the stiffening up I get from running. Dd1 will also come back to do the shows with the adult group if she can make enough of the rehearsals to know the dance (she can pick it up in a couple of lessons and look better than me when I’ve practiced all term!!).

we mostly do RAD syllabus work, tends to be a mix of grades between 4 and 6 and then learn show dances. There has been talk of us taking an exam but nothing confirmed yet. It’s good fun, I’d recommend it if there’s a class in your area to suit your level of interest experience. Many a proficient dancer has joined the group and then left when they realise we don’t take it too seriously. There are some girls (who I remember as older girls dancing with the school as kids) who are very good, but they’re the ones who are just there for a bit of fun too and don’t take it too seriously!

Morning all, if you have an Apple Watch, there’s a limited edition award for Global Running Day today if you record a running workout of at least 5km.

After a couple of days off doing any exercise I’m planning to run that tonight after I’ve dropped DD at Guides.

I'm also planning on a run today but unsure how it will be as I'm knackered from a horrid 14-hour work day yesterday. That kind of thing physically drains me now in a way that it didn't used to when I was younger...

Early 6k beach low tide run but I’m exhausted now and a busy work day (mumsnetting on lunch break). Think I’m fighting something as got a sore throat and lumpy gland hopefully it won’t take hold. I’ve got dog walk duties later think it will be short loop round the block tonight as tank will be empty by then.

@thirdistheonewiththehairychest i know what you mean I don’t have the stamina for long work days any more. My train was cancelled a couple of weeks ago turning my already long day into at 14hr one and I was shattered the next day - thankfully working from home.

I ran out of time today due to insane workload 😕 Another crazy day of travel tomorrow so no chance of another run until Saturday I reckon...

Sorry to hear that @thirdistheonewiththehairychest- I travel quite a bit for work too but I’ve scaled it back recently. Interestingly I read an article in the new Runners World mag today that even if you can’t run until the weekend, your training is as effective.

If my thumbs are up to it, I’ll type it out here for you (it’s only a few paragraphs).

I’ve just got back from a 6km run to get my Apple Watch global running day challenge. I kept a good pace for 5km (quite hilly where I live) but I got abdominal cramps for the last km so slowed right down. I have had the mirena coil for a few years and love it but it’s clearly that equivalent time of the month and I feel a bit rubbish now. Glad I got out though.

“Big Weekend

if you cram all your training into the weekend, can you still expect to get faster? A new study put the ‘weekend warrior’ approach to the test. The researchers divided a group of adults, made up of the sedentary to recreationally active, into two groups: a high-frequency group who did four workout a week (two moderate-intensity, two high-intensity) and a low-frequency group who did two workouts a week on back-to-back days (but each was twice as long).

Who enjoyed superior fitness gains after the eight-week period? There was no difference between the two. VO2 max improved significantly in both groups, as did metabolic efficiency (meaning they were using oxygen more efficiently).

What does this mean for you? If your working week makes training impossible, you can still achieve meaningful results just training at the weekend.”